Subject: Strange winged beetle Geographic location of the bug: Near Raleigh, NC Date: 09/17/2018 Time: 12:19 AM EDT Your letter to the bugman: This bug is stuck between my window and screen. Nocturnal? Difficult to get a photo. Looked like a black beetle until he opened his wings. How you want your letter signed: Curious in NC

Dung Beetle

Dear Curious in NC, This is an Earth Boring Scarab Beetle in the family Geotrupidae, and it really resembles this member of the genus Geotrupes pictured on BugGuide. They are often called Dung Beetles.

Daniel, Thank you! It was fascinating to watch him. I appreciate the information.

Subject: Identify this bug please Geographic location of the bug: Hatfield hertfordshire England. My living room!!! Date: 07/23/2018 Time: 05:36 PM EDT Your letter to the bugman: Hi this came flying into my living room tonight kept crashing into things it was so big. The noises when it crashed was outrageous! Never seen anything like this an especially not flying! How you want your letter signed: Alisha

Dung Beetle

Dear Alisha, This is a Dung Beetle. According to Down Garden Services: “Most dung beetles are small and nocturnal, but the larger Common Dor Beetles (Geotrupes spp.) and the Minotaur Beetle (Typhaeus typhoeus) are more easily seen. They are members of the Family Scarabaeidae. Dung beetles are important because they get rid of a lot of animal faeces, breaking it down and incorporating it into the soil, so helping in the recycling of nutrients. This also makes the world a less smelly place to live in and reduces the numbers of other insects like flies which would otherwise breed in it.” You can report your sighting to the Dung Beetle UK Mapping Project or DUMP.

Subject: Large Scarab with Extremely Long Legs Geographic location of the bug: South Mississippi Date: 01/07/2018 Time: 09:15 PM EDT Your letter to the bugman: Hi bugman, I am an environmental biology student with a love for all things nature. I’m usually pretty good at identifying animals and insects but this one has stumped me. I found it on a box turtle carcas in a pitcher plant bog/ wetland area. I’m pretty sure it is in the scarab group, but it has acceptionally long legs. The 3rd set are about 1.25 inches long, and the 2nd set are about 1 inch long. I have yet to see it poke its head out but it has 4 little spikes near its mouth. If you can help me identify this beetle I would really appreciate it! Thank you for your time! How you want your letter signed: Jaden

Humpbacked Dung Beetle

Dear Jaden, We quickly identified your Scarab Beetle as a Humpbacked Dung Beetle, Deltochilum gibbosum, thanks to this BugGuide image. According to BugGuide: “Large, round, dull black beetle. Male has a prominent hump on each elytron. Front tarsi absent. Clypeus has two sets of teeth, the inner ones pointy, the outer rounded (hard to see in photos)” and the habitat is “wooded places; on carrion, dung, rotting fruit, fungi.” According to Encyclopedia of Life: “Found in woodlands from Virginia south to Florida and as far west as Texas and Illinois. Also occurs in Mexico.”

Humpbacked Dung Beetle

Dear Bugman, This is Jaden just emailing you to thank you for identifying my humpback dung beetle! He was very interesting to come into contact with and snap a few pictures of! I appreciate your time and effort! Keep up the good work! Thank you again, Jaden

Subject: Is this a type of dung beetle..? Geographic location of the bug: St.Louis MO August 25, 2017 Sitting on my back patio a little west of St.Louis MO when this guy decided to join… Couldn’t see real well at first since my lights were off and it was dark out… thought it was a June bug but when I grabbed it I realized it was quite a bit bigger than a June bug snapped some pics and let it go out by my garden… it was really strong and had pretty unique 8 white or pearl collered lines 4 on the rear of each wing covers… I can’t find anything online that looks like it please help identify…thanks How you want your letter signed: Tim H

Dung Beetle

Dear Tim, This is certainly a Dung Beetle, and we believe based on this BugGuide image, that it is Dichotomius carolinus. According to BugGuide: “A big, black or blackish-brown, and bulky dung beetle. Note prominent striations on elytra, though these are often partly filled with dirt. Pronotum distinctively shaped. Vertex of head has short, blunt horn in male.”

Subject: Badlands NP Beetle Location: Badlands NP; South Dakota June 26, 2017 4:29 pm Hello, We saw this awesome beetle while hiking along a bison trail in the Sage Creek Wilderness portion of the Badlands NP a couple weeks back. Looks like a scarab beetle (?) We also saw dung beetles along the way 🙂 Thanks! Signature: D & M Coulter

Rainbow Scarab

Dear D & M Coulter, This Rainbow Scarab is actually a species of Dung Beetle. The male Rainbow Scarab has a horn and the female Rainbow Scarab does not. We cannot tell from your image if this is a male or female as the grass is obscuring the Rainbow Scarab’s head.

Subject: Large beetle Location: Hanover County, Virginia June 28, 2017 10:47 am I need some identification on this beetle. It was in my skimmer box. It’s very large-over 1″ long, 3/4″ wide, and sits up 1/2″ high. All these measurements are with its hairy legs tucked in. It looks like a rhinoceros beetle except for the stripes. Signature: Judy Hill

Dung Beetle

Dear Judy, We believe we have correctly identified your Dung Beetle as Dichotomius carolinus thanks to the Blue Jay Barrens site where it states: “The beetle at first appeared to be adorned with pale stripes. Closer examination revealed the stripes to actually be soil caked into grooves on the wing covers. Dung Beetle larvae develop in the ground at the bottom of a deep burrow where they feed on a supply of dung placed there by the adult beetle. The beetles can accumulate soil on their bodies when digging nest burrows or when burrowing out of the soil after pupation.” According to BugGuide: “A big, black or blackish-brown, and bulky dung beetle. Note prominent striations on elytra, though these are often partly filled with dirt. Pronotum distinctively shaped. Vertex of head has short, blunt horn in male” and “Said to be so strong that it is hard to hold within a clenched fist.” Your individual appears to possess the “short, blunt horn” indicating it is a male.

Dung Beetle

Oh my goodness! Thank you so much! I have searched all the beetle sites and couldn’t find it. It is huge

Thank you again. My 9 yr. old granddaughter saves all the different hugs she finds.